EVITA Fails to Recoup Investment on Broadway

Evita concluded its Broadway run on Saturday night, January 26, and according to Bloomberg.com the show failed to recoup its initial investment. The production, which cost $9.6 million would have had to run for 63 weeks to break even- instead it closed after 46 weeks.

Directed by Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford, Evita began previews March 12 and opened on April 5, 2012 at The Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway).

Eva Perón used her beauty and charisma to rise meteorically from the slums of Argentina to the presidential mansion as First Lady. She won international acclaim and adoration from her own people as a champion of the poor, while glamour, power and greed made her one of the world's first major political celebrities. Evita tells Eva's passionate and tragic story through Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's most dazzling and beloved score, including "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Buenos Aires," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" and "High Flying Adored," together with "You Must Love Me," the Oscar-winning hit from the film Evita.

After researching the life of Eva Perón for many years, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber released Evita in 1976 as a concept album with Julie Covington as Evita and it became a world-wide hit. Soon after, the production debuted on stage in London's West End starring Elaine Paige and directed by Hal Prince. The production transferred to Broadway and opened in 1979 starring Patti LuPone, who went on to win one of the seven 1980 Tony Awards the show earned. A major 1996 film of the musical was made starring Madonna as Evita and Antonio Banderas as Che. Michael Grandage's production of Evita, which opened in 2006, took London by storm and garnered critical acclaim for the show and its leading lady, Elena Roger.